Chapter Two

 

 

 

David hadn’t cared about joining a new pack at first. He and Charlie had spent years without one and, as far as David was concerned, they would be fine like that going forward, too. But Charlie had really wanted this. And since he’d done so much for David in the past, saying yes, when Charlie had finally come to ask, was a no-brainer. David would never be able to fully pay off the debt to his brother, but he could do this.

By the time the Joining Ceremony rolled around, David was actually into the idea. After being invited to a few celebrations and getting to know the locals better, he was happy that if they were going to be part of a pack, it would be this one. Most of the people he came into contact with in Harrington Hills seemed really nice.

And by ‘most of the people’, David meant everyone except Zachary Harrington, one of the sheriff’s deputies, whose picture could be in the dictionary under the definition of Hot and Angry.

They’d met on David’s first day in the town, after he’d picked up a last-minute job for a wedding party. David had noticed Zack as soon as the man had gotten out of the sheriff’s cruiser and headed his way. The deputy was handsome and very tall, and his uniform fit nicely over what looked like the body of a seasoned football player. David spent his days working in construction, and he could only dream of shoulders like that.

The spell had broken right after the guy opened his mouth.

“You’re the boss here?” he’d asked in that disbelieving tone that always made David grit his teeth. He’d managed to be civil only because it had been his first day, and the guy had worn a uniform. The fact that he’d introduced himself as Zachary Harrington helped as well.

They hadn’t exchanged more than a hello ever since, but David still couldn’t forget and move on. Any time he saw Zack now, he was torn between the impulse to walk away without looking back and a desire to confront him, to walk up to him and give him a piece of his mind about not assuming things about people.

Meanwhile, his wolf just wanted to rub his muzzle all over Zack.

When the big, black wolf walked up to him during the ceremony and he looked into those clear blue eyes, David had no doubt about who it was. They stared at each other for a long time, but then Zack looked away and let out a huff that David didn’t know how to interpret. Did he have a problem with David joining the pack? Or was it something else? David wasn’t a pushover, and he had pissed off a few people over the years, but, as far as he knew, he didn’t usually rub people the wrong way right from the start.

He didn’t usually react to others like he did to Zack, either, though, so maybe they both were just destined for a collision of some kind.

But then Zack stepped closer and brushed his shoulder against David’s, and David needed to push his claws into the ground to stop himself from dropping down. He drew a deep breath, hoping to calm himself, but then Zack’s scent hit him—metal and coffee and something he couldn’t decipher—and it just made things worse. When Zack pulled back, David leaned slightly to the side to follow but caught himself in time. He was in a very public place and he was the center of attention. It was the worst time to act crazy like that.

The rest of the greetings went by in a blur of smells and sounds and new connections, and—aside from Zack—each one was a little easier than the last. David couldn’t help being elated, because somewhere deep inside, he’d been afraid he wouldn’t know what to do with all these new strings of connection, of belonging. He’d been worried that he would want to run, to escape—that he would see that attachment as something holding him back. Luckily, he’d been wrong. As the wolves moved in front of him, welcoming him and Charlie, it didn’t feel like the pack members would take anything from him. Instead, they were the ones sharing, the ones inviting him to be with them. He didn’t have to prove himself. He didn’t have to jump through hoops to be seen, to be tolerated, to be accepted. The ceremony just solidified what the pack had already given him in recent months. “You’re one of us now,” they seemed to be telling him. “Welcome to the family.”

And for the first time in a very, very long time, he believed that maybe his family didn’t have to end at two.

 

* * * *

 

David had forgotten what it felt like to run with a big pack under a full moon, since he hadn’t done it in years. Now, bounding through the thick forest as he listened to the dozens of wolves move between the trees, he suddenly remembered how amazing it was, how different from running alone or with only Charlie at his side. He almost let out a howl of joy as the adrenaline rushed through his body.

After a while, the pack dispersed and split. Some wolves went back home, done with running for the night, while others kept going, but in smaller groups. David followed one of them on a whim, and he didn’t miss that a certain black wolf joined the same group. David quickened his pace, wanting to prove himself, to show he was capable. Watch me, he thought, picturing Zack’s gaze locked on him. Watch me. I’m no longer a kid, and I know what I’m doing.

The words came dangerously close to the ones he’d used numerous times to tell Charlie off for being overprotective. Maybe David was cursed with having to deal with the same shit over and over again.

An hour later, their group was on their way back to where the Joining Ceremony had taken place, when David decided to take a break for a bit and explore the forest more. He stopped at the small clearing and looked around, noticing an almost-perfect circle of trees surrounding the field of grass. There was a rock formation on one side and David decided to check it out, but before he was even half-way over to it, he caught the scent of metal and coffee, and he turned, telling himself his stomach didn’t just flip in excitement.

Zack was standing at the edge of the clearing and, with his black fur, he was almost invisible against the trees behind him. David tilted his head to the side and Zack did the same. They kept staring at each other, but this time there was no one who would hurry them up, no one to see this and question it. No one but the two of them.

David exhaled sharply and, without turning his gaze, he took a step forward. Then he paused, waiting for Zack’s move, and when it happened, when Zack took one hesitant step toward him, David grinned and took another step. Zack took the next one, David the one after that, and they slowly came closer and closer. There was even a hint of a smile on Zack’s muzzle, and something in David trembled in anticipation. He had no idea what was going to happen when they would come close enough to touch, but whatever it was—

Suddenly there was a noise to David’s left, and he caught the faint scent of peppermint gum that he knew all too well. A second later his brother appeared at the edge of the clearing, a gray wolf with white underbelly. David moved toward him immediately, since the last thing he needed was Charlie questioning him about Zack. He had to be very careful not to turn around, not to check if Zack was still there.

Charlie brushed his side against David’s when they were next to each other and, although David wanted to roll his eyes, he also couldn’t deny it was comforting to have his brother’s scent on him again and not buried somewhere under dozens of other wolves. It eased him back to reality.

His brother glanced behind him, so David didn’t fight with himself anymore and he did the same, but Zack was nowhere to be seen. David told himself he was relieved, and he almost believed that.

He didn’t care about exploring anymore, so when Charlie tilted his head to his left in a silent question, David nodded and followed him back into thick forest. As they ran side by side, David wanted to laugh at how, even after joining the big pack, at the end of the day, they were once again back to just the two of them. Instead of laughing, he just jostled Charlie a bit and they spent the rest of the way mock-fighting.

He pushed whatever had happened at the clearing between him and Zack to the back of his head. He’d figure it out later.